--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: True love is spelled G-I-V-E. It is not…" description: "\"True love is spelled G-I-V-E. It is not based on what you can get, but rooted in what you can give to the other person…\" — Josh McDowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/josh-mcdowell-4194_giving_true-love-is-spelled-g-i-v-e-it-is-not-b_276776.png" --- # True love is spelled G-I-V-E. It is not based on what you… ![“True love is spelled G-I-V-E. It is not based on what you can get, but rooted in what you can give to the other person…” quote by Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/josh-mcdowell-4194_giving_true-love-is-spelled-g-i-v-e-it-is-not-b_276776.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/josh-mcdowell-4194_giving_true-love-is-spelled-g-i-v-e-it-is-not-b_276776.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/josh-mcdowell-4194_giving_true-love-is-spelled-g-i-v-e-it-is-not-b_276776.png) > “True love is spelled G-I-V-E. It is not based on what you can get, but rooted in what you can give to the other person…” [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is defined by selfless giving rather than seeking personal gain, emphasizing generosity as the foundation of true affection. **In simple terms:** True love is about giving, not receiving. Key Takeaway Give freely, expect nothing in return. Themes selflessness love generosity Mood inspirational practical Type relationship ethical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - friendship building - volunteering - mentorship Key Concepts reciprocity emotional investment Questions to Reflect On - What can you give without expecting? - How do you set healthy limits? A Different Perspective Giving without boundaries can lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-does/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Love Spelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-spelled-2693454/) [Love you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-you/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Rooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooted/) [Spelled Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spelled-based-2693455/) [True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true/) [True love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-love/) [True love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-love-is/) ## Related quotes > [How do you spell love?... when you reach the point where the happiness, security and development of another person is as much of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/how-do-you-spell-love-when-you-reach-the-point-where-the-happiness/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [True love is taking the risk that it won't be a happily-ever-after. True love is joining hands with the man who loves you for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-lockwood/true-love-is-taking-the-risk-that-it-won-t-be-a-happily-ever-after/) [Cara Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-lockwood/) > [To a child, 'love' is spelled T-I-M-E.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/to-a-child-love-is-spelled-t-i-m-e/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [Love, when spelled backwards and read phonetically, reads evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/love-when-spelled-backwards-and-read-phonetically-reads-evil/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [With children Love is spelled TIME.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/with-children-love-is-spelled-time/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [As the crooked world revolve love spelled backwards is evol and evil spelled backwards is live or live(lieve)and when death comes you betta have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/as-the-crooked-world-revolve-love-spelled-backwards-is-evol-and-evil/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [True love is really animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-davies/true-love-is-really-animal/) [Ray Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-davies/) > [I want my true love, because I don't have so much time, and I wanna spend my time with the right girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/i-want-my-true-love-because-i-don-t-have-so-much-time-and-i-wanna/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) > [True love is not a potion one person can swallow and another refuse to drink. It happens only when the souls of two join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-love-is-not-a-potion-one-person-can-swallow-and-another-refuse/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love - true love - is a precious thing. It is painful, uncomfortable, makes fools of us all, but it is what breathes meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mosse/love-true-love-is-a-precious-thing-it-is-painful-uncomfortable-makes/) [Kate Mosse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mosse/) > [While love is common, true love is rare, and I believe that few people are fortunate enough to experience it. The roads of regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-buss/while-love-is-common-true-love-is-rare-and-i-believe-that-few-people/) [David Buss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-buss/) > [True love is about being able to accept raw emotions, no matter how difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/true-love-is-about-being-able-to-accept-raw-emotions-no-matter-how/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [True love is singing karaoke 'under pressure' and letting the other person sing the Freddie Mercury part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/true-love-is-singing-karaoke-under-pressure-and-letting-the-other/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [From all of us Scarborough girls, greetings and thanks. This task required two, working together, trusting each other. It required the "us," not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-werlin/from-all-of-us-scarborough-girls-greetings-and-thanks-this-task/) [Nancy Werlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-werlin/) > [True love is like religion. It is full of devotion and free of doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/true-love-is-like-religion-it-is-full-of-devotion-and-free-of-doubt/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) ## More by Josh McDowell > [“People naturally have questions. They always have and always will. One of the key functions of apologetics, then, is to respond to questions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/people-naturally-have-questions-they-always-have-and-always-will-one/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [Why don't the names of Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius offend people? The reason is that these others didn't claim to be God, but Jesus did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/why-don-t-the-names-of-buddha-mohammed-confucius-offend-people-the/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [I've never had anyone define purity. You probably can't define purity. Purity is to live according to original design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/i-ve-never-had-anyone-define-purity-you-probably-can-t-define-purity/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [If Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be, and He did die on a cross at a point of time in history, then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/if-jesus-christ-was-who-he-claimed-to-be-and-he-did-die-on-a-cross-at/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [The New Testament witnesses were fully aware of the background against which the resurrection took place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/the-new-testament-witnesses-were-fully-aware-of-the-background/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [One who claimed what Jesus claimed about himself couldn't be a good moral man or a prophet. 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To”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/god-placed-humans-on-a-plateau-above-the-rest-of-creation-when-he/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [After more than 700 hours of studying this subject, and thoroughly investigating its foundation, I have come to the conclusion that the resurrection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/after-more-than-700-hours-of-studying-this-subject-and-thoroughly/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [Where I once constantly lost my temper, I found myself arriving at a crisis and experiencing peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/where-i-once-constantly-lost-my-temper-i-found-myself-arriving-at-a/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [We no longer live in a post-Christian society, we live in an anti-Christian society, one in which the Christian faith is dismissed or ridiculed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/we-no-longer-live-in-a-post-christian-society-we-live-in-an-anti/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [Stephen L. Carter coined the phrase 'the culture of disbelief' to describe the prevailing hostility in Western culture toward public expressions of faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/stephen-l-carter-coined-the-phrase-the-culture-of-disbelief-to/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [On that Sunday morning the first thing that impressed the people who approached the tomb was the unusual position of the one and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/on-that-sunday-morning-the-first-thing-that-impressed-the-people-who/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [What you are as a single person, you will be as a married person, only to a greater degree. Any negative character trait will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/what-you-are-as-a-single-person-you-will-be-as-a-married-person-only/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [Whenever you do judge, the only basis of judgment is not your own perspective or anything else, it's the very character and nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/whenever-you-do-judge-the-only-basis-of-judgment-is-not-your-own/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [The fact that God accepts us should be our motivation for accepting ourselves. If we cannot accept ourselves the way we are, with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/the-fact-that-god-accepts-us-should-be-our-motivation-for-accepting/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) [Explore all 113 Josh McDowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "True love is spelled G-I-V-E. 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